


the courage of stars

by ailurea



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Reality, Arranged Marriage, Childhood Friends, Identity Porn, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 14:31:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19086976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ailurea/pseuds/ailurea
Summary: The war for the universe is over, and Earth is emerging as a new universal superpower—one where anti-Galra sentiment is only getting stronger.To combat it, the Blade of Marmora propose a simple solution: a marriage between the hero of the universe and the Blade who saved him in the final battle.Keith agrees easily. He’s never seen romance in his future, and playing roommates with the Black Paladin is far from the hardest mission he’s ever been on.He was not prepared for Takashi Shirogane.





	the courage of stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spookyfoot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookyfoot/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPOOKY! ♥  
> You are an amazing person and an amazing writer and I'm so blessed to call you my friend!! I hope you've had an amazing birthday, and that your birthday month will continue to bring you joy. ♥♥♥
> 
> Please enjoy this cocktail of all your favorite tropes, that I really hope are still your favorite tropes months later;;  
> (I really wanted to have all of this done, but I should have known that it would get away from me. The rest will be coming soon!)

_you taught me the courage of stars_  
_before you left_  
_how life carries on endlessly_  
_even after death_  
_with shortness of breath you explained_  
_the infinite_  
_how rare and beautiful it is_  
_to even exist_

— saturn (sleeping at last)

“It’s not too late,” Keith’s mom says as they watch the desert sands of Earth rise up to meet them through the viewport of their small shuttle.

“I’d say we’re pretty committed now,” Keith says.

He would guess that the moment they entered Earth’s solar system was the point of no return. At this point, seconds away from touching down on Earth, turning around is unthinkable. He can imagine what the media would run with:

_Universe-uniting marriage called off: Galra delegation takes one look at Earth and leaves because it’s just that ugly._

It’s not the most unbelievable spin on things. The Galaxy Garrison is planted in the desert in the middle of nowhere—the ideal location for them to be able to test their experimental spacecraft. There’s not much to it beyond the sand, rocks, spindly trees, and brown bushes, but there never needed to be. Not until now, when it’s suddenly become the de facto location for hosting alien dignitaries, which Keith guesses he’s considered now.

Personally, he doesn’t mind the environment. His own memories of the place are painted with a brush of nostalgia. The same, he’s sure, applies to his mom. He glances at her out of the corner of his eye and wonders what she sees when she looks out over the desert.

He wonders if the desert cabin is still out there.

Their propellers kick up dust as Keith guides the ship to a landing, covering the viewport with a thin haze of gold that obscures the purple evening sky. It’s a brief reprieve from the memories, but it also erases the world outside the cockpit for a moment.

His mom’s gaze is heavy on him in the enclosed space.

He initiates the landing sequence before leaning back in the pilot’s seat. “We can’t afford to back out now.”

“We can find other ways.”

Keith shakes his head. He’s confident they could find other ways. He’s also confident that it could take years. The Blades may be comfortable playing the long game, but he still isn’t, and especially not now. The fact that all the Paladins save the Altean princess call Earth their home has skyrocketed the planet from a relative unknown to a universal superpower in a breath. The rest of the universe has been living in Zarkon’s ten thousand year reign, but many of them are still aware that there’s more to the Galra than the Empire.

However, Earth’s only knowledge of the Galra is violence and war.

Keith knows how discrimination starts. This is an association that they need to shed before it embeds itself too deeply into the human consciousness and begins to spread throughout the rest of the universe.

“This is the quickest win,” he says, voice as steady as the ground beneath them. “It’s what we need right now.”

His mom presses her lips together. She doesn’t disagree, he knows, but she’s unhappy about it. Her voice is soft, but firm, when she says, “This will be your life, Keith.”

“And my life right now is the Blades.” Keith cuts power to the engine and initiates the shutdown sequence. “It’s the same mission, in the end. Just different parameters.” He smiles at her. “At least you won’t have to worry so much about me making reckless decisions out here.”

“I think I will always worry about that,” his mom says wryly. She’s silent for a moment as she finishes the shutdown sequence from the co-pilot’s chair.

With the propellors off, the dust has cleared from the viewport, and they can see the figures waiting for them on the landing strip—five, wearing Paladin colors. It’s not hard to guess who they are.

“I never wanted this for you,” she says.

Keith knows that, too. She left him and his dad to avoid dragging them—and Earth—into an intergalactic conflict. In the end, it seems like it was all for nothing.

It all started to fall apart when Keith’s dad died. His mom had known, somehow—something to do with Galra mating bonds—and she pulled out of her mission to embark on an unauthorized journey to take Keith up to space with her. Kolivan was furious with her until the moment he saw Keith, small and scared behind her leg.

If there’s one thing Keith’s learned about the Galra, it’s that the pull of family is strong, blood-related or not.

Once he began living with the Blades, it was unavoidable that he would get involved in their efforts, despite his mom’s best efforts to shield him from the worst of it. He doesn’t blame her for it. He never did.

“I don’t regret any of it,” he tells her, and means _I love you_. “Life goes on, whether you want it to or not.”

She smiles, but it’s sad. “I wish you had the chance to fall in love.”

“I’ve had one crush my entire life.” Keith unstraps himself from the pilot seat and stands. He rubs his suit, over where the thin corded bracelet rests around his wrist. “And I was, like, five. It’s fine. A big romance was never part of the plan for me.”

“Aw, you never know,” Regris says from behind them. He must have just made his way to the cockpit from his bunk; he’s standing in the doorway and stretching with all his appendages the way he does after he’s had a good nap. “Now that you’re back on Earth, you might run into them again.”

“Doubt it,” Keith says. Takashi’s always burned too brightly for this world, and his body knew it, even when they were young. By now, his flame has likely long died out, extinguished by an illness far beyond anyone’s control.

Life goes on, whether you want it to or not.

His mom studies his expression. She looks like she wants to say something, and he waits for her. In the end, she just sighs. Whatever she was thinking, she’s keeping it to herself.

She stands and sweeps out of the cockpit. “All right. Let’s go meet your new husband.”

* * *

It’s windy when the hatch opens.

The Blades armor does an excellent job of keeping the chill out, but their hoods and masks are down, and Keith’s hair is whipping around his face. He wrestles it into a braid as they wait for the loading ramp to lower.

Keith can see that the Paladins aren’t wearing their armor, but uniforms decorated in their colors. It’s still formal, but a step away from combative. A good diplomatic choice. He hopes that the Paladins don’t mind that he and his mom and Regris didn’t take the time to change.

In the center of the group, standing a head above them all with a shock of white hair, is Keith’s future husband, the Black Paladin.

The hero of the universe and the Blade of Marmora member who helped to end Zarkon’s rule, once and for all—a match made in the heavens, literally. If only they’d actually met before all this like they’re claiming in their press statements. In reality, he’d been a faceless pilot in a Galra fighter, and the Black Paladin had been a Lion and Bayard and armor. They’d never even had an actual conversation, only speaking in the language of warnings and commands.

The ramp locks into place with a _click_ , snapping Keith back to the present.

“It still isn’t too late,” his mom says.

“Mom.”

“It’s not too late until you’re bonded,” Regris says.

“And even past then,” his mom says. “It will never be too late. You’ve proven yourself, far beyond what anyone has asked from you. There will never be shame in retreating, or for putting your needs first.”

“I know,” Keith says, and means _thank you_. But he can’t imagine what his life would have been like on Earth, had the Blades not taken him in. They gave him a safe place amongst the stars. It’s his turn to give them a safe place back on Earth.

They’ve taken too long, waiting at the top of the ramp. Keith takes the first step down, then another, then another, his mom and Regris trailing behind him.

“Hey,” Regris hisses once they’re at the bottom. “The Black Paladin’s not an old guy, is he? He’s got white hair.”

“He’s older, yes,” Keith’s mom says, “but not old.” She slants a look at Keith. “Though now that we’re speaking of it, what is your age, in Earth years?”

Keith spends half a second churning numbers before he gives up. “I have no clue.”

Living in space means living with a time dilating mess that’s stripped all concept of age from him. The only answer he can accurately give to that question is _old enough_. Maybe if he changed into his human form, someone on Earth would be able to approximate his age based on appearance, but he doesn’t plan on letting any of the humans know that he can appear anything but Galra.

He’s here to encourage them to accept the Galra, not to help them find his presence palatable.

“Well, at least he’s not bad-looking,” Regris says quietly.

“They’re using a translator spell,” Keith’s mom reminds him.

The Black Paladin was once known as the Champion, according to Ulaz, who had rescued him from that fate and thrown him into another. And Keith has to admit that he looks the part, tall and broad in a way that Keith once hoped to be before human and Galra puberty both left him lean as ever. An angry scar slashes across the bridge of his nose, and his arm, once Galra-made and once flesh before that, is now an intimidatingly sleek white metal. But now that they’re closer, Keith can see that his face is kind, something gentle in the angled planes.

 _Friend-shaped_ , Keith thinks absently. There’s also something familiar about it.

Regris is still chattering quietly. “What’s his name again? Hero something?”

“Shirogane,” Keith’s mom says out of the side of her mouth. “Please save your commentary for after.”

Keith’s mind blanks for a moment, white noise engulfing him as his faculties are consumed with interposing the Black Paladin standing before him now with the afterimage of a desert ghost from decades past.

That’s the name that belongs with the Black Paladin’s face—Takashi Shirogane. His first and last human friend.

“Fuck.”

Regris’s head snaps to him. “What was that?”

Keith’s mom clears her throat.

They stop feet away from the Paladins, close enough that Keith can see Takashi’s face. Can see the way his eyes settle on Keith’s, and the unmistakable moue of disappointment on his lips.

Keith bristles at that. He’s not ashamed of being Galra. The Takashi of his childhood would never make him feel ashamed of something that he can’t control.

But as soon as he has that thought, he strikes it from his mind. It’s been over a decade since then. They’ve both grown, and he knows that Takashi’s suffered unspeakably in the hands of the Empire. It’s unfair to hold him to a standard of childhood naïveté that his adult self would never be able to compare to. That his adult self doesn’t even know he’s being compared to.

Because if there’s one thing Keith’s sure of from Takashi’s brief, disappointed glance, it’s that he doesn’t recognize Keith at all.

It’s not surprising, and Keith wouldn’t expect to be recognized by anyone who knew him as a human, which means he doesn’t have it in himself to feel too upset about it. He’s much taller now, and purple, and has strange fuzzy ears.

He’s surprised by the relief he feels, though, that maybe it’s better this way. Takashi’s memories of his childhood friend can remain there in the past. A symbol of a better time, untainted by war.

Now Keith’s a symbol of everything Takashi despises.

“Welcome to Earth,” Takashi says with a smile. His voice, like his body, is larger and stronger, but something about it is undeniably kind. The disappointment Keith saw is gone, replaced by a flawless veneer of civility. He holds out his hand to Keith’s mom, standing at the front of the group. “Please call me Shiro.”

 _Shiro_.

“Krolia,” Keith’s mom says, shaking his hand firmly. Then she steps to the side. “This is Kithra. And Regris, who’s accompanying us.”

Shiro greets them in turn, and Keith’s sure he doesn’t imagine the way Shiro’s smile dims when he turns his attention to Keith. “It’s good to see you again,” Shiro says, perfectly genially.

“You too,” Keith mumbles.

Shiro takes a step back and gestures around him. “These are the other Paladins of Voltron. Allura, Hunk, Pidge, and Lance.” They each wave and say vague welcomes in turn, all with the same polite expressions on their faces, but none of them make a move to step forward.

None of them look very happy to see him, either.

Shiro can’t be immune to the awkward atmosphere, but he doesn’t acknowledge it either. He folds his hands behind his back. “Why don’t we show you to your rooms? I’m sure you’re tired, and we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other.”

So that’s his solution: get rid of them as quickly as possible. Keith can respect that.

“Lead the way,” he says.

Shiro narrates as they make their way through the grounds of the Galaxy Garrison, which is currently under heavy renovation pending its rebranding as the Galaxy Academy—an explicit disassociation from the military aspect as part of their commitment to peace. How much they’ll actually change beyond the name is an open question.

Keith is, admittedly, tuning most of the tour out in favor of trying to catch snippets of what the Paladins are whispering about in front of him.

It’s not flattering, but also not overtly rude—comments about him being generally smaller than most Galra (nothing he hasn’t heard before) but also not bad-looking (he’s not sure how to take that one, but Regris said the same thing about Shiro, so he decides to let it pass).

They also express relief that he doesn’t look like he could take Shiro one-on-one. He’s offended they’d underestimate him like that—and also at the implication that he’d be fighting Shiro in the first place, seeing as he’s here to get married, not undergo trial by combat. But at least he can tell that Shiro’s got a good group of people looking out for him.

Takashi Shirogane, alive and well—it still hasn’t quite sunk in. He looks over Shiro again. At the broad shoulders that he can hardly reconcile with the kid he once knew. At the tuft of hair over his forehead that they thought he would grow out of but has somehow only gotten fluffier. At the small, soft smile on his face that has never been quite this small.

He’s changed, in so many ways that Keith can see, and in so many ways that he can’t. But he’s here. He’s real. Somehow, Keith can’t quite believe it.

Shiro glances at him, and Keith turns his head away quickly, miffed he got caught looking.

Shiro doesn’t say anything, continuing on with the history lesson he’s giving Keith’s mom and Regris about the sculptures in the courtyard without missing a beat. When Keith looks at him again, though, his smile is just a bit wider.

Kid Shiro was an open book. Keith can’t figure adult Shiro out at all.

Once they pass the large desert garden in the middle of the courtyard, the rest of the Paladins bid their goodbyes and break off from the group. Shiro leads them a little ways past, stopping them in front of a large building with smooth grey walls and many large windows along the side. A residence of some sort.

“This is where you’ll be staying,” Shiro says. “They’re long-term apartments, for visitors to the Gar—to the Academy.”

“This isn’t where the officers stay?” Keith’s mom says.

“Back when this was more of a military base, most of the officers did live here,” Shiro says. “But now a lot of them have chosen to live in the city. There are some officers’ quarters a block down for people who decide to stay.”

“Where do you stay?” Keith says, and refuses to be embarrassed by the question, even when Shiro’s gaze turns to him, searching.

But Shiro’s smile is soft when he says, “I’m in the officers’ quarters.”

“And after?”

Shiro shrugs with one shoulder—his left. “Figured that was something we should decide together. We don’t have to rush. You’re welcome to the apartment as long as you’d like.” He glances up at Keith’s mom and Regris. “That applies to both of you as well, of course. We’re also happy to help you find your own property on Earth, if you want somewhere you can stay long term. I know we’re asking a lot, for Kithra to stay here with us.”

Keith crosses his arms. “It’s not like we’re not asking a lot in return.”

He and the Blades were the ones to propose the arrangement. If anything, the Galra have more to gain from this exchange. It’s weird for Shiro to act like Earth’s the one doing the sacrificing.

“In any case,” Keith’s mom says. “Your offer is kind, but unnecessary.”

She doesn’t elaborate, and Shiro has no way to know of their history with Earth, but Shiro nods anyways. “If you ever change your mind, just let me know, and we’ll work something out.”

There’s a beat where Keith thinks Shiro may be waiting for someone to say something, but there’s only silence.

Keith scratches his wrist. His bracelet is starting to itch.

Shiro nods again and pulls out keycards from his pocket, checking the cards before handing one to each of them in turn. “Well. I’ll let you all get settled in. There are kitchens and food in each room. Tomorrow, we’ll set up your finances, and I’ll make sure you know where to go shopping and get groceries and whatever else you need. And we should discuss the, uh, ceremony, of course.” He flushes a little, and coughs.

That’s a new expression on his face. Embarrassed? But why?

Keith’s mom hums. “Thank you, but we wouldn’t want to take up all your time.”

Shiro shakes his head and smiles. It looks genuine. “Don’t worry, please. I’m happy to take the time to get to know you. We’ll be spending a lot of time together in the future. Or, Kithra and I will, at least.” He flushes deeper.

Keith can’t figure out precisely what Shiro has to be embarrassed about. Worried, he’d understand. Nervous. Maybe frightened. He can’t parse the embarrassment.

Shiro clears his throat. “Just, uh. Go ahead and message me whenever you’re ready to meet up. Have a good night.”

They watch him beat a hasty retreat, still red.

“Well,” Keith’s mom says. “He seems nice enough.”

“Keith could eat him for breakfast,” Regris says.

Keith rolls his eyes and holds his key card to the door. “You kidding? He looks like he’ll eat me.”

The lock on the door audibly unlatches, right as his mom sighs and says, “Boys.”

Keith holds the door open wide and waves her through instead of answering.

“But actually, why was he getting all red every time he mentioned the ceremony?” Regris says. He taps his chin with his tail. “Maybe he’s got weird ideas about what’s involved. You think anyone here knows what goes into a Galra bonding?”

“You could be right,” Keith’s mom says, even though her voice indicates that she doesn’t think he’s right at all.

Keith’s brow furrows. “What weird ideas could he have?”

Regris makes a circle with his hand and sticks his tail in and out of it repeatedly.

Keith’s mom whacks him hard enough that he stumbles into the open elevator.

She sends him up alone.

“Nice,” Keith says.

She smirks.

They each have their own rooms on the top floor. By the time Keith and his mom make it up, the hallway is empty, and Keith assumes Regris has already slunk off into his own room.

Keith doesn’t know how big the other rooms are, but his is larger than he imagines one person would ever need. He’s guessing from the size of the bed that it’s because it’s intended for more than one person.

He puts that knowledge aside for now.

There’s a paneled window sweeping across one wall, giving him an unobstructed aerial view of the Galaxy Academy’s campus. His mom and Regris, who have rooms on either side of his, must have the same view, but that doesn’t stop Regris from banging on his door and demanding to see it.

“Yep, this is bigger than mine,” Regris says as he surveys the space. He whistles when he sees the jacuzzi in the bathroom. “Nice.”

Keith sits on the bed and takes off his boots while Regris rubs his tail across all the furniture. “Did you want something? Because I’m ready to pass out.”

“Oh, yeah,” Regris says, turning to him. It’s the fakest-sounding _oh yeah_ Keith’s ever heard, and Regris is a disgrace to Blades everywhere. “Earlier, when we first met the Paladins, I distinctly heard you say _fuck_. What was that about?”

“Ugh.” Keith flops back onto the bed. “Any chance I could get you to leave it alone?”

“And leave you here with him without knowing anything?” Regris says. “No way.”

Keith lets out a sigh. “Don’t tell my mom, okay?”

Regris makes a gesture for him to go on.

“You know that only crush I was talking about?”

Regris’s ears and tail perk up. “It’s him? The Black Paladin?”

“Could you please be quieter about that?” Keith looks to the wall separating his room from his mom’s. He’s pretty sure the walls are too thick for her to hear, but he’s not taking any chances.

“Wow,” Regris says, then he grins. Keith hates that grin. “So you ran into him after all. I told you, didn’t I? What do you have to say now, Mr. I Doubt It? You were so sure of yourself, too.”

“I—” Keith cuts himself off before he mentions Shiro’s childhood sickness. It’s not his story to share. “Look, it doesn’t matter, all right? He doesn’t remember me.”

“I mean, that’s an easy problem.” Regris gestures to Keith’s body, spread out on the bed. “Just turn all pink. I’m sure he’d recognize you in a second.”

“The point is for them to accept me as a Galra,” Keith says. “Showing them that I’m part human defeats the whole purpose.”

“Okay, I mean, but that’s why you don’t want to walk around looking pink the whole time,” Regris says. “There’s still, you know. When it’s just the two of you, getting cozy…”

“I don’t think getting cozy is going to be on his list of priorities.” Keith can hear the disappointment leaking into his voice, and he tries to pull it back by the end of his sentence.

Shiro the adult should not have any expectations set on him by Keith’s memories of Shiro the kid. Keith will remind himself of this, as many times as it takes for it to sink in. It’s unfair, to him and to Shiro.

“You could—”

“Regris,” Keith says, quietly, but Regris falls silent anyways. “You know just as well as I do what he’s been through. What he’s been through while he was with the Galra. I don’t expect this to be easy for him, but I don’t want to make it any harder, either. He still has good memories of his past. I don’t want to ruin them.”

Regris is silent for a long moment. Then he comes over to sit by Keith on the bed. “You’ll be lying to him. Every day you don’t tell him.”

“I know,” Keith says.

“It’ll be better for him to find out sooner rather than later,” Regris says.

Keith can still remember Shiro’s smile, how it was so wide that Keith was pretty sure it actually hurt. He wants to see that smile again.

“If everything goes well,” Keith says, “he’ll never find out at all.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! this is on hiatus so i'm not sure when it will be completed—sorry about that;;
> 
> Follow me for updates:  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/ailurea) // [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/ailurea)


End file.
